By luke anami

 

Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary-General Francis Atwoli renewed his tussle with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission at an International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva.

“I inform this august conference that there is a looming danger in Kenya by a creature created by the new National Constitution in the name of Kenya Salaries Remuneration Commission,” he said yesterday in a speech at the 102nd ILO conference, which is ongoing.

He accused the SRC of intending to encroach on collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) “by fighting to reduce wages of both public and private employees”.

Atwoli said unions are opposed to the setting of a four-year cycle to negotiate CBAs and instead prefer the current two-year cycle.

Coming a few days after SRC struck a deal with MPs, the commission is once again in the cross-hairs, this time from workers who have rejected a circular dated July 2012 directing that CBA negotiations between trade unions and employers be negotiated every four years.

Resist any attempt

“As workers we will resist any attempt by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission of Kenya to interfere with freely negotiated terms and conditions of service of our members as this negates ILO Convention 95,” Atwoli added.

Workers and employers engage with each other every two years in negotiations that set terms of work, including hours of work, leave and leave allowances, housing allowances, overtime, salaries, disciplinary measures, and terminations, including summary dismissals.

However, the directive from the SRC — whose mandate it is to set and review pay for officers in State jobs — has put it in conflict with institutions that used to set salaries, including the Parliamentary Service Commission that set pay for MPs and CBA negotiators.

Unions argue that a four-year CBA negotiating cycle is too long, and the agreements may not adequately factor in determinants of salary increments.

Pay is determined by the rate of inflation, cost of living index, prevailing economic conditions at the time and the ability of the employer to pay, among other factors.

The right to bargain

“The right to bargain is enshrined in our Constitution and in ILO convention 95. We see SRC as interfering with the right to collective bargaining,” Atwoli added.

Even though the SRC directive does not cover trade unions in the private sector, both the unions and ministry of Trade are opposed to the commission’s recommendation, saying it will affect the harmonisation and registration of CBAs at the Industrial Court.

The outgoing Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Labour Beatrice Kituyi last year wrote to the SRC calling for dialogue between the tripartite partners to iron out the issues, but the SRC had not responded by the time of going to the press.

“CBA negotiations set terms and conditions of work, including salary, and is based on economic conditions. It is now difficult to predict economic indicators for a four-year cycle,” Kituyi said last week.

— lanami@standardmedia.co.ke